Everything about tires for LR4/ LR3 with 18" wheels

Hey guys, I read through most of this thread, but I'm still struggling to choose tires. I have an '06 LR3 with the 18" wheels. I don't want to stress the suspension with rods or SYA lift. I also want to maintain full articulation. I think that leaves me at 31" diameter or less for tire size. That brings me to pick 265/60R18 at 30.5" OD. However, I'm stuck on choice of load rating and tire weight.

Should I go with D or E tires? I imagine XL and C is too lightweight for this truck. I'm using this as my daily driver so I care about fuel economy, but I live in Utah and really want it to be capable on snow, ice, dirt trails, and rocky trails in Moab and the mountains. I don't plan on towing, but I do care about sidewall strength.

These are the tires I'm considering(all 265/60R18):
- Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT - E-rated - 57 lb - 119Q - 18.5/32" tread
- BFG KO3 - D-rated - 51 lb - 114S - 15/32" tread
- Toyo Open Country AT3 - E-rated - 50 lb - 119S - 16/32" tread

The Baja Boss seems like the most capable, and it is a touch bigger at 30.8" diameter plus it has more tread. I'm leaning towards that the most, but will I regret the extra 6-7 lb weight? The KO3 is the only D-rated one at this size, but it doesn't release until August this year. There is also the Cooper Discoverer Stronghold and Yokohama Geolander that are E-rated and 48lb, but the Toyo looks better on paper.

Any advice is appreciated!

Lol, coincidentally, I just wrote something on this elsewhere…. For a difference of opinion for consideration. It goes like this:
(And do follow those links if you don’t have the education!)

You’ve asked for it ;-)
I know I’m in the minority here, but for consideration:
I’ve provided these links before:
https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/
and
https://tiresize.com/pressure-calculator/

And I think another comment for consideration is: Are you going for performance or looks?

Its all well and fine until you are off road somewhere and have a air suspension fault, find your vehicle resting on the tires as they are too large to allow the car to sit on the bump stops. How do you limp out of that situation without being a burden to anyone else?? (Sorry, as a real sailor, telemark skier, hiker... its all about self sufficiency)
Moreover, I think the LR4 engineers nailed it…. Off road when you want, go to the opera when you want. That drive is excellent with the non LT tires and the air suspension.
Thats not to say I didn’t oversize, but it is so marginal with 255/55R19s. No rubbing. Never got stuck (the right tires for the job) and that includes pulling a tractor out of a bog…. While in the bog myself. Or climbing wet smooth and loose granite on the Canadian Shield. And no rubbing (I hate that noise).

I see some with crazy spacers… drastically affecting the scrub angle and trying to convince themselves of better performance…. I drive in all weather and road and iff road conditions, and (touch wood) the handling of the vehicle is perfect.

Like I said, you asked for it ;-). But I thought you should have at least 1 argument in the other direction.

Just trying to balance the scale with the difference of opinion.

To answer your specific question I must attest I think many over do it.
Of course, I’m observant and careful where I drive. Do you really need a E rated tire? I’m ex combat arms and even those tires were overkill.
Best of luck!
Cheers!

I’ve been trying to make the same decision but for the LR4, I don’t want to overdo it and add all this unnecessary stress to the system but it does seem that the 31.5” size is suitable for our vehicles without having to further modify (based on the abundance of information in this multi-year thread).

I’ve pretty well decided on the 265/65r18 size and it’s just been coming down to tire choice in this size. I dont mind LT tires but it doesn’t seem to be necessary since the vehicles are specced with XL rated tires and that exceeds the weight class even with extra loading.

At this moment I’m leaning towards the Cooper Discoverer Rugged Trek, but also considering the Nitto Terra Grappler G3 both in the XL load range.

No question about it, both are excellent tires. The tire size calculator link I provided earlier has you get into the wheel wells with your tape measure to assist in ensuring fitment.

Put the vehicle into “locked access height” and measure it up.

If this thread gets to 1000 posts I’ll give away a Land Rover to one of my lucky subscribers!

itsaguything said:

No question about it, both are excellent tires. The tire size calculator link I provided earlier has you get into the wheel wells with your tape measure to assist in ensuring fitment.

Put the vehicle into “locked access height” and measure it up.

Click to expand...

Yeah those are handy links for sure! I just have to measure things up. I'm actually unsure of the exact offset of the OEM 19s. Without having removed one of the wheels yet I've not found that spec. But I do have all the details for my new setup at least. I decided on the Coopers and I'm having them installed Monday.

Excellent.

Jeepers, 34, no 33 posts to go.

Thanks @itsaguything, the tire calculator is pretty interesting. I want to maximize performance as much as possible. Rhino rods/air lift is unsafe. I considered the SYA kit but the 2" spacers need 2" of limit straps to protect the cv axles. I found some mentions of a heavy duty cv but couldn't find anything concrete.

Since I posted, I've been reconsidering the 265/65R18 if I can maintain articulation. Which areas do they rub? I understand I need to relocate the rear AC lines and some other cable harness. I think I need to chop a bit of the front wheel well. Will I need to flatten the body seam behind the wheel well or is that only for 285/60? I have an 06 lr3 so the frame horn should stick out less than later years. Will that rub at full lock and articulation?

Also I'm eyeing the new Nittos, the Terra Grappler G3 at 265/65R18 in the E rating. They only run 49 lb, not too much heavier than XL tires and lighter than most E's.

Here's something I couldn't figure out. The tire I ultimately was most interested in was the Falken Wildpeak AT4W, however I determined the LT size was going to be too large physically to work without modification. However what I thought was strange was that the 265/60 is XL rated, while the 265/65 is SL rated, yet if you compare their load indexes, they're identical. Why would one be XL and the other SL?

Abram said:

Here's something I couldn't figure out. The tire I ultimately was most interested in was the Falken Wildpeak AT4W, however I determined the LT size was going to be too large physically to work without modification. However what I thought was strange was that the 265/60 is XL rated, while the 265/65 is SL rated, yet if you compare their load indexes, they're identical. Why would one be XL and the other SL?

Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure they compare the weight rating vs the size to determine SL or XL. If you look at the XL 225/65R17, it's only 106T at 28.5" whereas the SL 265/70R17 is 115T at 31.7".

I really wish the 265/65R18 E rated was 31.5" too. 31.7" is pushing it.

By the way, Mickey Thompson has the Baja Boss 265/65R18 in XL rated with load rating 116T.